


Arranged Marriage

by VincentMeoblinn



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Anal, Arranged Marriage, Case Fic, Fingering, Frottage, M/M, Masturbation, Oral
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-01-27
Packaged: 2018-03-09 08:24:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3242879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VincentMeoblinn/pseuds/VincentMeoblinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Reid decides to leave the BAU due to his painful crush on Hotchner, the man proposes an extreme way to avoid him leaving or them breaking the fraternization rules- by proposing. (I play fast and loose with rules and such in here, but I do try to justify them. Please excuse my poor knowledge of medicine. I did research but lack practical experience.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Reid walked into the BAU with his head down and a despondent look on his face. He held his bag in front of him like a shield as he slowly sank down into his chair.

“Oh no,” Prentiss asked, eyes wide, “What happened?”

Reid glanced up at them briefly and then lowered his eyes again.

“Your mom?” Morgan guessed.

Reid shook his head slowly, opened his mouth to speak, and then let it fall shut with a heavy sigh.

“Oh gods,” JJ stated, walking into the room in time to see them all focused on Reid with worry in their eyes, “Who died?”

“No one,” Reid forced out, “I’ve… been up all night thinking things through and… I’ve made a decision.”

“What kind of decision?” Prentiss asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Morgan replied, “He’s leaving.”

Reid nodded to his lap, hands gripping his bag tightly.

“But… why?” JJ asked, putting her hand on his shoulder, “I thought you were doing well. Nothing’s happened, has it?”

“Well, nothing new,” Reid replied, “It’s sort of complicated.”

“More complicated than the cases we handle?” Morgan scolded lightly, “Come on, Reid. We can handle it.”

Reid sighed, picking at his nails for a moment while they waited him out, “I’m uncomfortable working with one of the group.”

Prentiss and JJ exchanged alarmed looks. Morgan lowered his eyebrows curiously. Rossi walked into the room and raised an eyebrow curiously, apparently ready to wait it out. He leaned against the nearest wall and crossed his ankles.

“Is there something we can do?” Prentiss asked at the same time JJ wondered, “Who?”

Reid swallowed hard, “I’d rather not say. I’m hoping to remain friends when we leave and we’re such a tight knit group that I don’t want to cause friction. It’s just too uncomfortable for me to continue working with that person day in and day out.”

Morgan frowned, “If someone’s making you uncomfortable you need to tell us.”

“If not us, than contact HR,” Prentiss stated worriedly, “No one has the right to chase you out of your job.”

“It’s not intentional,” Reid sighed, “It’s just… the way that person _is_ but I can’t handle it. It’s my fault.”

“Did they tell you that?” Morgan asked.

“Reid,” JJ put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently, “We really need to know whose harassing you. You and I can talk in private if you want?”

Reid looked up at her in alarm, “What? No! No one’s _harassing_ me! That’s not it at all!”

“It’s not?” Morgan asked in confusion.

“No!” Reid stammered, “This is _my_ fault. It’s all on me. I just can’t handle it anymore, that’s all. I’m leaving so my work environment will be tolerable.”

“And how is that not being harassed?” Prentiss asked.

“Because _they’re_ not doing anything! I am!” Reid stammered, “It’s _my_ unhealthy infatuation and…”

Reid paled and the group all stared at him in shock.

“Oh, now we _really_ need to know who it is,” JJ smirked.

“This isn’t funny, you guys!” Reid snapped.

“You going through some late teenage angst isn’t funny?” Morgan grinned, “I beg to differ.”

“It’s not teenaged angst,” Reid frowned, “I’m in _love_ , it’s just that it’s not a sustainable relationship and…”

Garcia walked in on their snickering and Reid’s miserable squirming.

“What are we making fun of Reid for today?” She asked, smiling tentatively. If Reid needed it she’d back him up… or join in the teasing. It depended on the subject.

“Reid’s in love with one of us, but he won’t tell who,” JJ laughed.

“Oo!” Garcia squealed, hurrying over and pulling up a chair to sit beside him, “Dish! Tell us!”

“Yeah, tell us!” Prentiss added eagerly.

“Are you all forgetting the part where I’m _resigning today_ because of this? Or is my misery just that funny to you?” Reid asked.

The group sobered instantly, and Morgan replied, “Reid, you can’t quit because of that.”

“Just because you don’t get it doesn’t mean it isn’t tearing me apart inside. You guys have all had successful relationships at some point. _I haven’t_. I don’t even know what to…”

The sight of Hotchner entering with a hurried look on his face cut off Reid’s monologue. His eyes dropped, he blushed a bright pink, and he went back to picking at his fingers. The group’s eyes widened in shock and Prentiss’ mouth opened and shut helplessly for a moment. Rossi smirked a bit from where he’d been silently observing them the entire time.

Hotchner froze at the sudden stares he received, his eyes narrowing at the group, “What? I can’t have car trouble like everyone else every once in a while?”

“Reid has something he wants to tell you,” Morgan stated.

“Something _honest,”_ Prentiss urged.

“Something totally adorable!” Garcia added.

JJ nudged her but Reid had had enough. He stood up and bolted for the bathrooms, shutting himself inside. He was in there crying for nearly an hour when Morgan stepped in.

“Hey, Reid, you okay?”

“I’m crying in the men’s room over another guy. What do you think?” Reid hiccupped.

“Actually you ran into the ladies room by mistake,” Morgan replied, “I was all for sending in JJ, but I lost the coin toss so…”

“Great,” Reid choked out, “I couldn’t get more pathetic… unless of course I ran out of toilet paper to blow my nose on and had to ask my co-worker to hand me some from the next stall over.”

Morgan grinned a bit and walked into the next stall. He passed Reid some toilet paper and then sat down on the toilet.

“Look, I know it hurts. Believe me I do.”

“How would you?” Reid asked angrily, “You go through women like candy. I go through them like life insurance policies.”

“That doesn’t mean I haven’t gotten my heart stomped on before.”

“He hasn’t stomped on it,” Reid sniffled, “He doesn’t know.”

“You sure about that? He’s pretty smart.”

“I’ve been hiding it for years. You guys never noticed until I made up my mind to face it. Unless he’s indicated something in the last hour I’d say he still doesn’t know.”

“Okay, so face this like a man. Tell him. Give him a chance to smooth it over. What he says might make it okay for you to work here.”

“I can’t help but notice you’re not indicating he’d accept my attraction,” Reid pointed out.

“He’s only ever been interested in women that I’m aware of,” Morgan pointed out, “Then again, so have you.”

“I’m bisexual,” Reid replied with an unseen shrug, “I just rarely meet men who draw my interest.”

“So you’re just going to walk out without telling this one how you feel? If it’s so rare, than doesn’t that make it even more important?”

Reid left the bathroom with Morgan walking slowly behind him. He walked up to the kitchenette where Hotchner was just taking his first sip of coffee.

“I’m requesting a transfer.”

Hotchner was silent a moment, then he nodded and dropped a spoon in the sink, “Step into my office.”

“Well this is certainly surprising,” Hotchner stated as he indicated a chair for Reid, “Although I suppose not entirely considering our jobs. I’d thought you were coping well with the stress, though.”

Reid was silent and Hotchner studied him for a moment.

“Although,” Hotchner stated, sitting gracefully in his chair and folding his hands, “If you _are_ experiencing some immediate distress from our work there are resources…”

“It’s not the work,” Reid replied, bitterly, “It’s stressful of course, but that’s not the reason I’m leaving, and I _am_ handling it. I’m not a child.”

“I never said you were,” Hotchner replied, “I don’t think of you that way and I hope you’re not leaving because you perceive that I treat you as one.”

“No,” Reid replied, lowering his eyes again, “It’s nothing you’ve done wrong.”

“Technically,” Hotch stated, “You don’t _have_ to give me a reason, but you’re a valuable member of this team. We won’t be the same without you. Replacing you will be exceedingly difficult on multiple levels. I have to know if there’s _something_ I can do to get you to stay.”

Reid laughed bitterly, “I doubt it.”

There was a moment of silence as Hotch studied him and Reid fought back tears, then Hotchner spoke again, “This is clearly personal. I need to ask if something has happened on the team that requires intervention or if you’re using dilauted again. If it’s a team member the problem will likely repeat when you leave. If it’s a drug problem then I can’t in good conscience send you elsewhere.”

“What happened to no inter-team profiling?”

“If you’re leaving the team that’s not an issue, is it?”

“It’s not drugs,” Reid replied, “I’ll submit to a test if you want me to.”

“Then it’s personal. Or rather _personnel_.”

“Yes, sir.”

“The problem is me, isn’t it?”

“No, the problem is me,” Reid replied.

“But the problem is _with_ me,” Hotch stated. He didn’t phrase it as a question so Reid didn’t answer. Hotch continued, “Reid, I can’t force you to talk to me, but I’d really like an explanation. What have I done or said? I don’t want to repeat my mistakes with another team member.”

Reid was silent. So Hotch reached into his briefcase and brought out a simple yellow notebook. He placed it on the table with a pen, “Will you write it instead?”

Reid nodded, “Just… tear it up after?”

“I’ll burn it if you want me to,” Hotch nodded.

Reid sat there writing, crossing out, and re-writing for a good fifteen minutes. He got more and more upset until he was crying outright. Hotch sat in his desk and nudged tissues closer, perfectly content to wait him out. Outside of his office JJ paced anxiously. She had a case but wasn’t going to interrupt him. Not yet. It would take time to fly out there so there was only so much they could do. She’d make the brief on the plane to give Reid time.

Finally Reid handed the tablet over and Hotchner sat back to read it. It was covered in frantic scribbles of self-analysis and several attempts at diffusing the situation, but they were all crossed out. The final words were the simplest and relayed the unpleasant truth of the situation. _I’m in love with you._

Hotchner tore the sheet out, tore it up several times, and dropped it into his waistbasket, “You can take it out to burn it later if you like.”

Reid sniffled but didn’t respond.

“This has clearly been weighing on you for some time,” Hotchner stated.

“Years,” He replied, “I’ve been having trouble sleeping. Getting migraines. It’s affecting my health. I can’t ignore it anymore.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“All indications are that you’re heterosexual. Not to mention it could be considered sexual harassment.”

“Sexuality is rarely inflexible,” Hotchner pointed out, “Very few people are 100% one or the other. There’s usually wiggle room.”

Reid laughed self-depreciatingly, “I’m not the kind of person people wiggle for.”

“I think that’s my call, don’t you?” Hotchner stated.

Reid replied, “I can’t stay and moon over you like a teenager and if you _were_ to give me a chance I’d still have to leave because of the FBI’s fraternization rules.”

“There’s wiggle room in that, too,” Hotchner replied, “Agents are allowed to marry, just not date.”

Reid gave him a confused look, “Aren’t I usually the one who states irrelevancies?”

“It’s not irrelevant,” Hotchner replied, “There have even been a few cases in which married couples were allowed to work together on select teams, specifically ones that didn’t work well without them, but only after a trial period.”

“I’m not sure I’m following you,” Reid replied, “Are you… are you _proposing_ to me?”

“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea,” Hotchner replied quickly, “This isn’t a love confession. It’s a trial period. If it doesn’t work out we get it annulled, or if that’s refused we get a divorce. If it does work out than once Internal Affairs finds out we show them the cases we worked while married and that we can manage it just fine.”

“So we marry first, then date after?” Reid asked, dabbing at his nose with a hopeful look on his face.

“Precisely,” Hotchner nodded, “We can avoid later conflicts by each of us signing a pre-nup. Then if we call it off it’s a simple split.”

Reid’s eyes flickered from side to side as he considered the situation from all angles, “Today?”

“That would be best. Judging by the way JJ is pacing and staring she has a case so…”

“We could let them leave ahead of us, communicating by the jet’s sat comm., quickly get a civil union, and meet them for the case.”

“You brought a go bag with you, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I wanted to be prepared in case I couldn’t transfer immediately,” Reid nodded.

“Then let’s get this started. This is the lawyer who handled my divorce with Haley. Call him and have him fax a simple pre-nup to us. We’ll sign it in front of the person who marries us, get married, and hurry over to meet the group for the case. I’ll find out where we’re going from JJ and order us plane tickets.”

“I should pay for mine,” Reid replied, reaching for his wallet.

“I got this one, you get the honey moon… assuming we have time for one.”

Reid nodded, but when Hotchner was out of sight he gave the card in his hand a giddy smile.

Hotchner walked out into the bull pen and headed straight for JJ, “We have a case. I need to know where.”

“Don’t you want to know what it is?” JJ asked, leaning sideways to stare at Reid over his shoulder.

“I trust your judgement, and I’m in a hurry,” Hotchner replied, “Reid and I are going to have to meet you there. We have business to attend to.”

“Oh no,” Garcia whimpered, “You broke his heart. He’s checking himself into a mental institute, isn’t he? I knew this would break him!”

“It probably would have,” Hotchner replied, “But as it happens I didn’t break his heart. Now then, into the jet and get started. Contact us by sat comm for the briefing.”


	2. Chapter 2

“I wish I’d worn something nicer,” Reid muttered as they neared the front of the line at the local government seat.

“You look fine.”

“I look fine for profiling, I look ridiculous for getting married,” Reid grumbled.

“Would you feel better if I took my suit jacket off?” Hotchner offered.

“No,” Reid smiled shyly, “I like it on you.”

Hotchner smirked, “Have a thing for suits?”

“Let’s just say I watch a lot of James Bond films.”

“That explains a few things,” Hotchner teased, both of them taking a step forward at the same time when the line moved.

“It’s full of inconsistencies and obvious misinterpretations, but it’s very entertaining.”

“This is the longest wedding march ever,” Hotchner sighed.

“Wedding march?” Reid asked.

“You know, when the bride walks down the isle? We’ve been walking down this hallway in tandem for an hour now.”

Reid snickered, “We should start humming every time we take a step.”

Hotchner held out his arm and Reid hesitantly took it. They took another step forward and hummed a few bars of the wedding march. The people in front of and behind them snickered and also joined arms. A few steps later and the entire long line was doing it with them. The secretary opening the door laughed every time she let someone in.

Finally they were in front of the official, signing paperwork and showing identification. A few waivers later and they were out the door with hurried steps.

“We should buy rings,” Reid suggested in the taxi, “Do you know your ring size?”

“Not offhand,” Hotchner replied, “We’ll deal with it after the case.”

“Right,” Reid nodded, pulling out the notes he’d taken during their sat comm conference, “Off to North Dakota and a possible gang that just went from vandalizing to murdering.”

XXX

They checked into the hotel after hours of crime scenes and briefing LEO’s. Hotchner and Reid hung back while the rest of them located their rooms, then Hotchner turned to Reid with a sigh.

“I’d prefer to take you out to dinner, but frankly I’m exhausted.”

“Take out?” Reid asked, “I could go for pizza.”

“It will have to do,” Hotch replied, “My room?”

“Sure.”

They retired to Hotchner’s room where Reid fidgeted anxiously with everything in sight and Hotchner called for delivery.

“What do you want on the pizza?” Hotchner asked.

“Breath mints,” Reid replied distractedly.

“I think I saw some in the lobby,” Hotchner replied, “You know… I think I’m more in the mood for breakfast. You want to get out of here and find a diner?”

“Absolutely,” Reid replied, all but bolting for the door.

“Sorry for the trouble,” Hotchner told the person on the other end.

“Nervous date?” She laughed.

“Something like that,” Hotchner replied, “Got all that from half a conversation?”

“I won’t be in pizza forever,” she replied with a bit of sass.

“Do me a favour. Google BAU when you have a chance. Goodbye,” Hotchner hung up, grabbed his coat and Reid’s, and followed his anxious husband out the door.

The diner was fairly typical small town, unlike the case they were on. Gangs were usually restricted to cities, but these two seemed to have moved into the area and were feuding on the porches of a normally quiet farming town. It made no sense and they’d gone into it with completely different thoughts until they’d gotten to see the scene. It was in fact a gang killing, not a racially motivated crime as they’d assumed. The fact the victim happened to be one of the few Mexican individuals in the town was clearly irrelevant. He’d been part of one of the gangs and had been made an example of.

“It looks like snow,” Reid muttered, fiddling with his menu while staring out the window.

Hotch grabbed his hand, pulling it from the menu and covering it with his other hand, “Reid, this is me you’re dealing with. You _know_ me. Would I expect anything of you after our first date?”

“No,” Reid replied, staring down at their hands, “All previous behaviour indicates you’re a gentleman.”

“Then relax.”

“However consummation of the marriage is considered the more important aspect in past and current-“

“Reid, _stop_. We got married first due to a technicality. Now we’re dating. Our honeymoon will come _last,_ okay? Just focus on getting to know me as a romantic partner before you start thinking of me as any other kind of partner. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Reid smiled up at him shyly, flexing his fingers to return his gentle grip, “This is nice, actually. I mean, the case aside I like diners.”

“I know,” Hotchner smiled, “I’m kind of cheating right now by knowing you so well first.”

“That’s not cheating, that’s research… or in this case experience. Either way it seems like the wise way to go about things.”

“Honestly, Haley and I…” Hotchner winced, “Sorry, that’s probably not who you want to discuss.”

“On the contrary, I think it’s very relevant. If we know the mistakes that you both made in your past relationship we might be able to avoid making them in ours.”

“You know,” Hotch smiled, “I’ve always admired how logical you are.”

“Thank you,” Reid beamed, “I’ve always admired your strength and cool head. So what were you saying about Haley?”

“Just that we started out as friends and I don’t regret our relationship. Being that I barely dated before her or after I’m not really sure I’m comfortable going about a relationship any other way.”

“Than this is a comfort zone for you.”

“Very,” Hotch nodded, “Add to it the fact we work together and maybe we _can_ avoid the pitfall Haley and I hit of rarely seeing each other.”

“Assuming they don’t transfer one of us out the moment they find out,” Reid replied.

“Here’s hoping,” Hotchner replied, holding up his glass of water. Reid smiled and they clinked glasses and each took a sip in mock toast.

The waitress stopped by, “What can I get for you?”

“I’ll have the Farmer’s Breakfast,” Hotch ordered, “With decaf coffee.”

“French toast with strawberries and whipped cream, please,” Reid ordered, “Oh, and some hot chocolate.”

“Coming right up,” She replied.

“Oh, just a minute!” Reid called, holding up a hand to her and looking at Hotch, “Since we can’t tell our friends yet, can I tell her? We might get a free desert out of it!”

“You want desert after that dinner?” Hotch smiled, “Sure, go ahead.”

“We got married today!” Reid crowed, “Thanks, that felt fantastic!”

“Congratulations!” the waitress smiled at them fondly, “Aren’t you two adorable! I’ll get your food right out to you.”

She gave them a wink and left while Hotchner blushed from the attention and Reid preened a bit.

“For the record, I’m sure the team knows something is up,” Hotch replied, “They just haven’t had time to grill us yet.”

“Yeah, but I doubt they’d guess what we pulled. I mean, who would expect that? It’s just a bit crazy.”

“Just a bit,” Hotchner admitted.

Their drinks arrived and they sat in silence for a while, Reid occasionally reaching out to touch his hand with one finger.

“Can I call you Aaron when we’re alone?”

“Sure,” Hotchner replied, “Just don’t slip up in front of anyone else. They won’t buy the sudden term change.”

“Not a problem,” Reid replied, “At least you can call me Spencer without anyone blinking.”

“I think I’d better not,” Hotch replied, “They’re going to be watching us carefully.”

“True,” Reid replied, “I’m kind of hoping they don’t get it so we can see the shocked look on their faces when we tell them.”

“Or when AI tells them,” Hotchner replied seriously.

Reid frowned, “I just hope this doesn’t harm your career.”

“If Foley couldn’t, you definitely won’t,” Hotchner replied.

XXX

They ate their dinner in relative silence and then drove back to the hotel in with Reid yawning tiredly in the passenger seat.

“You’ll probably be more comfortable in your own room,” Hotchner stated, “But you’re welcome to join me in mine. Just for sleep, obviously. I want to be alert tomorrow.”

“Do you miss sleeping beside someone?” Reid wondered.

“I did for a while,” Hotchner admitted, “But then Jack started bunking in my bed with me after Haley was killed and I started _really_ missing my space.”

Reid smiled, “He still does that?”

“Not for a few months now. I think we’re finally over that hump.”

“Where do you stand on me interacting with him?”

“I’m not sure,” Hotch admitted, “You’re my friend, so I see no reason to keep you away from him, but I’d rather keep our relationship out of his life until we’re certain it’s going to last.”

“Agreed,” Reid replied with a nod, “As to tonight… if you’re okay with sharing your space I’d like to join you?”

“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t,” Hotchner replied with a fond smile.

“I haven’t seen you smile this much since Jack was born,” Reid smiled eagerly.

“I missed being married,” Hotch replied, “I know that sounds silly, but… there’s some security in it.”

“Yet statistically men who are married live shorter lives than men who aren’t.”

“Really?” HOtch replied, “I thought it was the opposite?”

“I’ve read studies going both ways,” Reid replied, “It largely depends on whether or not that study was done with a wide or small range of people; for instance if the study focused on people in the city lifespan was shorter, while rural areas showed marriage greatly improving the lifespan. This is likely due to the fact that people in rural areas who marry are more likely to be gainfully employed and work hard to survive while people in cities are largely unaffected by marital status.”

“Fascinating,” Hotch replied, “So we’re at risk by being married?”

“Not necessarily, the studies I read only included heterosexual couples. Homosexual couples are largely unresearched.”

“That should be remedied,” Hotch replied.

“If I’m forced to leave or resign the BAU I intend to go into research,” Reid stated, “Use my brain a bit more.”

“I think you use it just fine,” Hotch replied.

“Sure, and I love that I’m making a difference, but I always feel like I could be doing more.”

“I’m going to quote Haley now.”

“Go ahead.”

“’Don’t push yourself so hard’,” Hotch chuckled.

“Wow, yeah. I bet that annoyed you.”

“A bit, but she only said it out of love.”

“I don’t think she understood how demanding and consuming this job is.”

“I’m glad she didn’t. It would have destroyed the part of her I loved.”

“Yet there’s a part of me you could see yourself loving despite the fact I’m in the BAU?”

“More like _because_ you’re in the BAU. I’m not comparing you to Haley. You’re two different people and frankly, I need that. I don’t need another Haley, I need someone new and different in my life so I don’t slip back into old patterns.”

“Very understandable,” Reid nodded.

Hotch held the door to the hotel for Reid and then to their rooms as well. Reid smirked a bit but made no comment. He didn’t mind being treated like the ‘girl’. Hotch’s cowboy strength was what drew him in. They both undressed with their backs to each other, Reid stealing glances in the mirror while Hotch pretended not to notice. Once in fresh boxers and tee shirts they both hesitated to pick a side of the bed. Hotchner chose and climbed in with Reid quick to follow. They spent a few minutes lying on their backs and staring up at the ceiling before Hotch rolled onto his side.

“How do you usually sleep.”

“I try to always sleep on my back without a pillow because it’s healthier for the alignment of your spine,” Reid replied, but smirked when Hotchner’s eyebrows went up, “Then I somehow end up with my face somewhere near the foot of the bed and the pillow on top of my back.”

Hotch grinned, “Want to try something? Something _platonic_ , I should add.”

“Sure, I’m assuming you mean spooning? Should I be the big spoon since I’m taller than you?”

“Sure,” Hotch replied, rolling over, “That way it’s new for both of us.”

Reid snuggled close and let out a happy sigh against Hotch’s shoulder. A few minutes in and he began to fidget. Hotch chuckled.

“I forgot to mention the big spoon is the annoying part. Having trouble with your arms?”

“I suddenly have too many of them,” Reid complained.

“Roll over,” Hotch smiled, “Let an old pro show you how it’s done.”

Hotch wrapped one arm around Reid and slipped the other beneath the pillow his head was resting on, “The other way is to put it behind you, but your back is straighter than Haley’s so I’m thinking it would be uncomfortable.”

“Good to know,” Reid yawned.

“You said you hadn’t gotten much sleep last night?”

“Mm,” Reid replied.

Hotchner fell silent and let Reid drift into slumber, breathing in the unfamiliar scent of a man in his bed. He wasn’t uncomfortable with it, but he was surprised at how relaxed he felt. He trusted Reid implicitly, and he wanted the young man to be happy. He wasn’t sure if he could manage this, but he was going to try it. Once Reid was deep asleep he gave his hips a few experimental rolls, trying to see if his body would respond to Reid’s. His cock hardened, but he wasn’t sure if it was because of Reid or because he was lonely and horny. He let himself drift off after enjoying the friction for a bit. He was tired enough that it didn’t keep him awake.

 


	3. Chapter 3

“You called it,” Morgan stated staring up at the corner of the hotel door, “Reid never went into his room last night.”

Prentiss nodded, staring up at the stickers they’d used a marker to colour to match the brown trim on the doors. They’d placed one over the opening of both Hotch and Reid’s doors, high up against top where they wouldn’t be easily spied. Only one was torn in half from the entrance, the other they’d inspected to see if it had even come unstuck at some point. It hadn’t. As far as they could tell Reid had spent the night in Hotch’s room.

“What now?” JJ asked.

“We keep it on the down low, that’s what,” Morgan replied, “IA finds out and one or both will get shipped to another department.”

“I really thought Hotch would be smarter than this,” Prentiss frowned, folding her arms, “He can’t possibly love Reid, what’s he thinking?”

“Reid’s lovable,” JJ argued weakly.

“I’m not saying he isn’t,” Prentiss replied, “I’m saying Hotch is unlikely to love him. Yet he’s jumped into this with both feet! Now what? Reid’s either going to face discipline with Hotch or get his heart broken. Or both.”

“Well what was Hotch supposed to do?” Morgan replied, “Reid basically gave him an altimatum. Love me back or move me to another department. Maybe he thought bedding him would get it out or Reid’s system. I mean it’s basically hero worship, right? A little bit of reality on the bottom will shake him out of it.”

“You really think that’s what this is?” JJ argued, “Reid’s got a bad case of jock itch so Hotch just has to scratch it for him and they’ll both move on like nothing happened?”

“You _do_ know what jock itch is, right?” Morgan asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You know what I mean,” JJ sighed.

“Hotch is a pushy boss and a bully,” Prentiss reminded JJ, “The likelihood here is that Hotch represents for Reid what he never had in high school and college: the unattainable affection of a popular role model and leader.”

“Um, interteam profiling much?” Reid asked, sliding the door open, “These doors are thin.”

“Well, they know,” Hotch sighed from inside the room, “Tell them everything or let them flounder?”

“Your call,” Reid shrugged, “I’m going to my room to take a shower.”

Reid passed them, pulled off the sticker off his door and gave it a narrow glare, and walked into his room without glancing at them.

“Oops,” Prentiss groaned.

Hotch leaned against the doorframe in sweatpants and a shirt, “I like Morgan’s idea of keeping this on the downlow, but I don’t care overmuch for how little you think of me. I’m not leading Reid on. I wouldn’t hurt him like that. We’re both invested in this, thank you very much.”

“Sorry,” They all muttered in turns.

“We’ve got a case to solve. Everyone ready in ten minutes,” Hotch walked to Reid’s bedroom door and raised his voice, “Hear that Spencer? Ten minutes!”

“Kay!” Reid called back, the sound of the shower already running.

Reid was frantically masturbating in the shower, his hand flying over his dick fast and hard as he tried to reach culmination before the ten minute limit passed. He also had to leave time to dry off and dress. He knew Hotchner wasn’t going to take it easy on him just because they’d married and spent a night snuggling. Reid knew that men could orgasm in about two minutes if stimulated enough, and he was most certainly stimulated enough after waking up in Hotch’s arms with his morning wood pressed against him. He was just glad that his snarky remarks had distracted them from the fact his bag was hiding more than just his nervousness that morning. Reid pressed his forehead into the crook of his arm and caught a bit of Hotchner’s scent lingering on his skin from where he’d had his arm draped over Reid’s. It was all he needed and he came with a grunt, hand gripping himself tightly as pleasure made his knees weak.

Reid quickly shook himself out of his euphoric state, rinsed off his hand, staggered out of the shower, dried off, and threw on the nearest set of clothes. He was still tucking his shirt into his trousers when he staggered out into the hallway, his suspenders in one hand and his bag practically choking him as he didn’t have it correctly placed over his shoulder. Hotchner was standing there staring at his watch and Reid froze as he looked up.

“Am I…?”

“Nope, ten seconds to spare.”

Reid breathed a sigh of relief and the team gave Hotchner various glances of worry and respect. They filed out and into the SUV they had rented, driving to the station where the Sheriff was worriedly pacing the room.

“We’ve got a storm coming in fast and another body’s just been discovered.”

“That’s an interesting way to phrase that sentence,” Reid blurted out, “The order implies importance, meaning you’re more worried about the storm than-“

“Reid,” Hotchner cut him off.

“Sorry,” Reid replied, going up to the board to look at the pictures they were hanging up, “Why weren’t we called before-“

“Reid,” Hotchner sighed.

“Sorry.”

“How bad is the storm?” Hotchner asked.

“Bad enough that we decided to take a few pictures and then leave the crime scene entirely to you and the coroner. We have to get the town situated and fast. The grocery stores have already been all but looted, we need to check wires, organize the plowers, and make sure there are no accidents with people going stir crazy.”

“ _You_ do all that?” Morgan asked in surprise.

“We’re a small town,” The sheriff shrugged, “Here’s the coordinates of the crime scene. Sorry there aren’t better directions, but it’s in the middle of a field. Body’s frozen solid and the animals have been at her. You can use my GPS if you need to.”

“I’ve got one, thanks,” Hotchner nodded, “Let’s go guys.”

They all left in a hurry, with the Sheriff shouting at them about getting chains on their tires. Reid piled into the very back as usual and Rossi sat next to him. Prentiss and JJ were in the middle seats and Morgan was up front with Hotchner.

“So are we going to talk about this?” Morgan asked.

“You can, but I’m driving,” Hotchner pointed out, “I can’t exactly look at photos. I’ll join in the brainstorming when we get to the crime scene.”

“I meant you and Reid.”

“There’s nothing to discuss.”

“You spent the night together less than 24 hours after he confesses to having what is- _in his words-_ an ‘unhealthy infatuation’ with you. I think you owe us a bit more of an explanation than just ‘shut up about it’.”

“I said to keep it on the down low, not to shut up about it. If you want to know what’s going on ask Reid. I won’t violate his privacy by sharing personal details with you.”

“Um…” Reid stammered as all eyes except Hotchner’s turned to him. He glanced up at the rear view mirror and saw Hotch give him a comforting glance before focusing on the already slick roads, “Well… first off nothing happened last night.”

The car broke into disbelieving noises all around him, except for Rossi who nodded his head thoughtfully and added, “That’s comforting. I’d be worried about you both if it had.”

“Just… we wanted to spend time together, you know?” Reid replied, “Outside of the case. We went out to dinner after you all turned in and then we turned in. We just did so in the same bed. Simple as that.”

“There ain’t nothing simple about that, Reid,” Morgan replied.

“Why are you all so convinced this is a bad idea?” Reid asked, “Morgan, you’re the one who insisted I tell him and give him a chance to give _me_ a chance.”

“Yeah, but that was when I thought he’d find a way to gently let you down and convince you to stay.”

Reid’s expression turned stony, “Am I that disgusting to you all?”

“What?” JJ asked.

“No!” Prentiss spat out.

“Absolutely not,” Morgan replied, “But this is a pretty sudden change to the group dynamic-“

“ _Nothing_ about the group dynamic has changed,” Reid insisted, “We just need one less room from now on. If anything it will save the BAU money.”

“Good point,” Hotchner agreed.

“Oh, now he speaks!” Morgan snapped, “You want to tell me what _you’re_ thinking in all this? Reid I get, but I can’t get my head around your actions right now.”

“I suppose that depends on what actions you think I took?” Hotchner asked, “I took a very dear friend out to dinner, held his hand, and spent the night with him in my arms. I had a lovely time. Now it’s go time and I’m his boss. Plain and simple.”

“You think you can just divide it like that?” Morgan asked.

“No,” Hotchner replied, “I expect there to be complications. I expect us to have disagreements and, eventually, to have sex. For now it’s all very new and we’re taking it slowly. Right Reid?”

“Right,” Reid nodded, “But I am curious as to why you were willing to let them think we’d had sex? You left it to me to dissuade them of that fact and didn’t comment on it until I had. Why is that?”

The groups eyes widened and all eyes swivelled to Hotchner.

“Some men would be embarrassed by our actions last night, they would lie and pretend they’d ‘tapped that’, as it were. I was giving you the opportunity to flaunt a bit and make it sound as if you were the dominant partner in bed if you wanted to. I’ve no objection to that as I don’t see either role as weak, but since you’re relationship experience is less than mine I wanted to give you the chance to defend your masculinity if you felt you needed it.”

“I appreciate that,” Reid smiled, “I don’t see either roll as weak either, but your behaviour to date indicates that you already see yourself in the ‘masculine’ role and me in the ‘feminine’, or at the very least submissive since that’s a more accurate term for our dynamic.”

“I think you’re misinterpreting basic learned behaviours and habits as male posturing,” Hotchner disagreed, “I open the door for you because that’s what I’m used to, not because I think I should open the door for you.”

“I see,” Reid nodded, “Than it’s fine if I open a few doors for you?”

“I’d like that,” Hotchner replied, pausing to steady the wheel as the car slid a bit on some ice, “Here’s the part where we go off roading. Let’s keep the chatter to a mininum.”

Reid turned his head to look out the window, effectively ending communication on his end, while the rest of the car sat in stunned silence. JJ pulled out her phone and sent a text to Morgan and Prentiss.

**They’re perfect for each other. JJ**

**They’re creepy and dispassionate. M**

**It think it’s cute. Hotchner is communicating with Reid in a way he can understand. P**

**You would. M**

**I think this might work. We have to keep it quiet, though. JJ**

**Will do. P**

**Maintain radio silence. Got it. M**

**Someone tell Garcia next time we see her in person. Don’t want her chatting on a monitored line. JJ**

**On it. M**

The crime scene was unaltered except for the body being removed by the coronor who had left an hour earlier. They paced the area and studied the scene. It had in fact happened a good few days earlier, but not been found until that point. The good news was the scene was preserved by the frozen ground, the bad news was that it was already under a dusting of snow despite them setting up a quick bit of cover. They used snow brooms from their car to brush the snow aside, Reid sifting through it carefully to look for anything that might have been swept up, and examined the frosty ground beneath.

“Two of them were running,” Morgan interpreted carefully, “Their footfall pattern indicates exhaustion. They were stumbling an awful lot for people who are used to fields.”

“Or they aren’t used to them,” Hotch supplied.

“These four,” Prentiss replied, “passed over the first two. They were chasing them.”

“They ran the two down,” Rossi stood behind two firmly frozen footprints, “and shot one of them exocution style.”

“Then the other was tied up and dragged away,” Hotch supplied.

“Why tied up?” Prentiss asked.

“No struggling except in the spot they kneeled, but no indication of a fight. This could be our other victim who was dragged off. The timetable fits, but he was found first.”

“So what have we got here? They’re both from the Zombie Carrot gang- stupid name.”

“It’s from a movie,” Hotchner pointed out.

“Zombie Carrot?” Reid asked, looking up from his sifting with hands trembling from the cold.

“Zombie Carrots from Outer Space,” Hotchner replied, “It’s part of this Halloween special with the monsters from Monsters Vs. Aliens. The new movie, not the old one.”

“A kids movie, I’m assuming,” Prentiss asked.

“Yes,” Hotchner nodded, “My son watched it about eight times last Halloween. He thought it was funny. In it the carrots came to life, bit everyone, and turned them into zombies. When you destroyed a carrot it split into two or more.”

“Lovely,” Prentiss sighed, “So did they get killed by their own gang because someone convinced them they’d rise as two instead of one? Or did the Hunters take them out?”

“That’s what we have to figure out,” Hotchner replied, “One thing’s for sure, our profile of a gang still fits. This isn’t racially motivated. It’s clearly a turf war.”

“Crops vs Woods,” Reid sighed, “Who wants fields for territory? Woods are way cooler.”

“I imagine that’s why the Carrots are so pissed off,” Prentiss pointed out, “The Hunters have been here for ages. Then these city boys move here and start a gang in the fields and start edging into their territory? Introducing our first weird rural gang.”

“How exactly is it a gang instead of just a group?” JJ wondered, “These small towns always end up dividing into ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentalities. There’s just too little to do.”

“It probably did start out that way, until the new group moved here. Gangs are identified by the way they socialize,” Reid provided, “They give themselves names, rules, are tight-knit, and are extremely aggressive towards outsiders. Then there’s the main definition, which is holding a territory rather than just a headquarters and… wow… guys, I found a shell casing but it’s not from the gun that killed our vic.”

Hotchner moved to Reid and frowned, “It’s a casing to a shotgun, but what makes you think it’s recent? This is a farming town. Everyone owns a shotgun and those who don’t are already learning how to shoot them from their parents.”

“It’s not showing any sign of damage from the weather,” Reid replied, “I’d have to get a gun powder analysis, but I’m guessing this is related to our crime.”

“Neither victim had shotgun wounds,” Prentiss pointed out.

“No, but shotguns are loud and scary. They could easily be being used by the locals- or Hunters- to intimidate the Carrots into running. Shooting a person at close range with a shotgun would be gory and appalling to most non-sadistic people. It makes sense to intimidate them with this weapon and then shoot them with another or slit their throats instead.”

“That leads to the pistol issue,” Morgan pointed out, “A Hunter would be more likely to use a weapon. A Carrot would be more likely to use a hand gun.”

“He might have shot him with his own weapon,” JJ pointed out.

“Or,” Hotch frowned, “We’re looking at an killing from _within_ the Carrots.”

“Let’s take some more pictures and get out of here,” Morgan stated, “The snows coming down faster than we can sweep it away and visibility is going down.”

Hotchner nodded and turned for the car. There was a man in a ski mask standing in front of the SUV, a shotgun in his hand. As they stared at him in surprise he cocked it. The sound of snowmobiles being revved reached their ears and they quickly found themselves surrounded by a group of six individuals on three snowmobiles, all whooping and laughing at them. Hotch had his gun out before the first fellow had finished priming the shotgun.

“Agent Hotchner, FBI! Put down your weapon and surrender into police custody!”

“You and what army?” Taunted the first masked figure.

“Uh, Hotch?” Reid worried, “I think we’re surrounded.”

“I can see that, Reid,” Hotch replied, “You guys don’t want to do this! You’re already in a _lot_ of trouble. Don’t make it worse.”

“The way I see it,” Shotgun replied, “We get rid of you and they’ll know how strong we are. Won’t they?”

One of the snowmobiles spun out of control and flipped and there were a few moments of chaos. During the madness Hotch shouted ‘Run!’ and the group scattered into the fields. The sound of shotgun fire sounded after them, but they kept running. Hotchner noted that the sound became further and further away and that eventually he couldn’t hear the snowmobiles at all. He staggered out onto a road, spotted a house, and bolted for it on feet heavy with cold and strenuous excersize. He called the local law enforcement who sent out their _own_ snow mobiles to round up his team. It was three hours later, when the storm had turned into a full blown blizzard, that he was informed they had to give up the search and wait out the weather.

“By the time you find him he’ll be dead!” Hotchner spat into the phone owned by the Wheller family in the farmhouse he’d found. His own cell phone wasn’t working. The tower was out, “Who is missing?”

“What was his name?” The officer on the other end paused, “Dr. Reid.”

Hotchner felt the colour drain from his face. He hung up the phone as the line went dead a second later. The lights followed after that. A flashlight clicked on nearby and Mr. Wheller went muttering off to locate candles.

“Ice on the cords,” Mrs. Wheller explained, “I keep telling them at meetings that we need to bury the lines like the town over did. Come on upstairs. We’re gas heat so even if the power goes out we’ll be nice and warm. Have a generator in the barn we can turn on if we have to, but not till after the storm passes.”

Mrs. Wheller led him to a bedroom where he sat on the bed and stared morosely out the window at the white sheet that was once the outdoors. He couldn’t even tell landscape from falling snow anymore.

“Maybe he made it to another house?” She suggested, “One that lost their phone line before us?”

“I hope so,” Hotchner replied.

XXX

It seemed to Reid that the snowmobiles were everywhere. No matter which direction he ran- if he even was picking a different direction with the snow blinding him- he was always being cut off by one. He finally gave up running when he was completely out of sight of them for a bit of time, found a pine tree with a shallow area beneath it, and quickly climbed beneath it’s protective boughs. From there he started pulling snow around him, working fast but methodical as he recited the equations he needed to engineer his very own igloo, keeping his face from freezing over by keeping it moving. He left only a very small opening close to the trunk where the snow would be less likely to settle and smother him. Then he sat down in his tiny snow fort and shivered until the area began to warm up. The snow creeked around him and he reran the calculations, double checking the math along with the highest estimated snowfall to discover if his shelter would hold. All numbers showed it would.

Finally there was nothing left to do except rest. He was exausted, thirsty, and hungry. He rooted through his bag, which luckily never left his side, and found a semi-frozen water bottle and a protein bar. He dug into the bar and sipped a bit of the water, putting the rest in his coat pocket so it would thaw faster. He was warm enough that he doubted he’d suffer much for having the cold bottle so close. He took off his gloves and laid them down with the driest side up to make them into a pillow, then pulled his arms into his jacket. He curled up tightly on his floor and stared out his tiny opening at the bit of trunk he could see. Beyond it should have been field and perhaps sky depending on the terrain, but all he could see was white. He used a stick to periodically poke at his entrance to make sure fresh air remained available, but eventually time, thirst, and chill took it’s toll and Reid slept.


	4. Chapter 4

_Aaron stroked along Spencer’s cheek with one warm hand and smiled down at him._

_“Where am I?” Spencer asked._

_“Home,” Aaron replied softly._

_He was home. He was back in his childhood home in Las Vegas, the familiar books and walls nearly as warm as the desert heat pounding in through the nearby window._

_“It’s cold,” He frowned, “It looks warm, but I’m freezing.”_

_“You were nearly dead when we found you,” Aaron soothed, “You did so well, Spencer. I’m proud of you.”_

_“Will you help me warm up?” Spencer asked hopefully._

_“Of course,” Aaron replied, “What are husbands for?”_

_Aaron was instantly naked and pressing down on Spencer until he was flat on his back with arms and legs pinned down. He began to grind against him, moaning softly while Reid whimpered and writhed beneath him. His erection pressed tightly against Aaron’s hip while his full arse moved just within view as he stared down at him._

_“Aaron!” Spencer moaned._

_“Oh, Spence,” He groaned back, “I need you!”_

_“Yes! Please!”_

Reid’s eyes flew open, his breath coming in frantic pants as he flailed in the small space. He was trying to grab onto Hotch and pull him into his body, but he was alone. He’d grabbed a bit of his packed ground instead. Reid groaned miserably, adjusting his erection by shimmying around instead of touching it with chilled digits, and slipped his hand out of his coat to poke his entrance. Light appeared.

Reid’s eyes widened, both at the hope that he’d be safe soon and horror that he’d nearly been without air.

_I survived. I survived the storm._

Reid’s stomach gave an angry protest at his optimism and he pulled out the now unfrozen water to take a long, needy swallow. His bladder immediately protested, but he’d have to dig out as the ‘hole’ he’d left was only big enough to provide air and a bit of light. Reid pulled up his hood and tied it tightly, slipped on his now _very_ wet gloves, and got to squirming out of his igloo. He kept at least one of his arms above him at all times. If his shelter collapsed or the tree dropped snow on him having an arm up meant the ability to swim out of the snow, while having them down meant death.

Reid was careful to glance around his surroundings before climbing free, but he could only look in so many directions before he had to stand up and peer behind him. That was when he saw the snowmobile, but while it initially alarmed him, a further glance revieled that it had crashed into the tree behind him and been abandoned.

“Well, that was close,” Reid chattered, brushing snow off of himself and walking around his igloo to examine it, “I wonder if it will st-“

His words were cut off when he tripped over something. He twisted back and brushed snow away, shuddering at what he saw. A very blue young man.

“Too close,” Reid replied, “But too far away for you. A few more steps and you’d have found me and maybe we’d have survived the night together… or killed one of each other fighting over my half-ruined igloo.”

Reid pulled himself up again and stumbled the last few feet to the snowmobile. He brushed off what snow hadn’t melted in the sunlight to find the keys still in, but turning them produced no response.

“Damn,” Reid sighed, “Out of fuel, I guess.”

A dog brayed in the distance and Reid’s head shot up.

“Safety and warmth or murderous gang? My kingdom for a _working_ snow mobile.”

Reid returned to his tree and shimmied out of his suspenders. He wrapped them around a stick as if he were making a torch and put it in plain sight, sticking up from the ground. Then he second guessed that method as it wasn’t as visible as he’d like. With a chuckle of amusement he started to dig through the snow and soon had a snowman standing beside his igloo. Reid dug up brown pine needles for hair, rocks for eyes and a mouth, and a pinecone for his mouth. He dressed up his snowman as himself using his suspenders, shirt, sticks for arms, and his bow tie. With the suspenders and bowtie draped as they were the snowman was visible to anyone looking for a body from a 360 degree view. He was warm from his activity but chilled in his extremities, so he decided to warm up in his igloo. He climbed in and stripped off his coat, lying in only his undershirt and trousers on top of the thick garment. It was fairly dark in his igloo though some light did shine through the snow in thinner spots. He briefly considered shoring them up, but decided further fortifications were unnecessary if he was likely being looked for. Instead he listened to see if anyone was nearby and then undid his trousers.

Reid hissed at the bracing cold of his hands, but his groin would warm them up as fast as his armpits and served a second purpose. He wanted to continue that wank that had been so rudely cut short in the hotel. After a few minutes of shivering Reid was able to take himself in hand and stroke along his length with soft, pleased sounds. He was soon stroking himself more firmly, his mind painting a new picture.

In his mind Reid and Hotch had gotten trapped together and Hotch was lying beside him as they spread out both their coats in the igloo. It was still storming outside and Hotch was leaning over to press soft kisses along his cheek.

“You were so clever to protect us like this,” Hotch whispered, “You saved me.”

“You’d have thought of something.”

“Probably, but I doubt it would have been as comfortable as this is,” Hotch chuckled.

“Aaron,” Reid whispered, “Would you… do something for me?”

Even in his imagination he couldn’t bring himself to ask for what he wanted so he skipped to the part where Hotch leaned down and started licking at his cockhead before slowly taking it into his mouth. He’d stare up at him with those intense eyes and suckle him slowly, teasingly, until Reid was a panting, trembling mess.

Back in reality Reid was sweating and shaking as he cupped his balls with one hand and jerking himself off fast and hard with the other while panting for _Aaron_ and groaning softly. He came with a soft shout, shaking as he shivered through his climax.

“If I get out of this alive, I’m not procrastinating anymore,” He promised his slowly softening prick as he used a bit of snow to clean off his belly. It turned the semen instantly gritty, but as disgusting as that was it made it quick to brush away. Reid pulled his trousers up again and wrapped the coat around himself. He rested his head on his gloves again and relaxed for a bit.

When he’d caught his breath he climbed back up and carefully climbed the tree with his satchel slung over his shoulder. He nearly fell twice, but once he’d gotten comfortable he was able to take out a book and read in the sunlight.

Hours passed and voices neared, but Reid was hesitant to call out until he’d seen the people possessing them. His decision turned out to be the right one as the people who neared appeared to be adolescents from the Hunter gang. He leaned back in his tree and hoped they wouldn’t look up while they glared at his snowman.

“They were playing out here?” One of them scoffed, “I guess they’re not too worried about that missing agent.”

“Nah, pigs hate the FBI. Don’t you watch TV?”

“TV ain’t real!”

“You shut up!”

“You _both_ shut up!” The tallest snapped, “Now listen. We’ve got three counties with us and _now_ these pussies show up to cause us trouble. I’m not going to let them step in and cause us trouble. The next shipment is _tomorrow_. We need-“

His voice faded out as they walked into the distance and Ried let out a deep sigh of relief. Shipment likely referred to illegal activities of some sort, probably drugs or smuggling, which meant the group did indeed meet the criteria for being a gang. Now he just had to hope the next group that stumbled across him were on _his_ side. The carrots, distinct in their orange vests as opposed to the camouflage that the Hunters wore, had been their assailants last night. Now that Reid knew this extended beyond one county he was sure they had a true problem on their hands that wouldn’t be solved by the BAU, but he still had to get back to them in time to _tell_ them.

More braying and a hound dog with a police dog vest came trotting into view. It circled the tree and then wandered over to the corpse he’d noticed earlier. He began to bray loudly and footsteps hurried over. Reid was silent in his tree, but it was the police who lumbered into view.

“Shit, it’s a body,” One man stated, “Those fellows are going to be pissed.”

“Can’t believe the pushy one was so convinced he was alive in the first place. Been through worse than a snowstorm my arse.”

“Actually,” Reid called, “I have.”

They turned and noticed his snowman. One of them moved closer to it with a look of horror on his face and Reid chuckled. He jumped and looked up to where Reid was waving over the edge of his book.

“Watch where you step, there’s an igloo just to your right and it will cave in if you step on it. SSA Dr Spencer Reid, I believe you’re looking for me?”

“Too right!” The man replied, “I can’t believe you’re alive!”

“I really have to… you know… go... can we take my debriefing elsewhere?”

“Absolutely,” The man nodded, then pulled up a radio, “Dispatch, you’re not going to believe this. I found him, and he’s alive! Little shit was up a tree _reading a book_. Says he spent the night in an igloo!”

Reid could hear cheering come through from the other end and grinned a bit as he climbed out of his tree. That is, until he missed a foothold and knocked the wind out of himself by landing flat on his back. He was unharmed but embarrassed as they laughed and helped him up, dusting him off and slapping his back companionably. Reid collected his things from the snowman and followed one officer back to his truck while the rest stayed with the body. Reid climbed in, gratefully adjusted the settings for the heat to blast his fingertips, and sighed in relief.

“Here,” The man stated, holding out an empty beer bottle to Reid.

“Um… thanks…” Reid replied.

“It’s to piss in,” He replied, “How’d you know how to survive for over twenty hours in a storm but not know that?”

“I only have a theoretical knowledge of wilderness survival and a few training courses from the FBI. None of my knowledge is practical.”

“Is now,” The man grunted.

“I think I’ll hold it,” Reid replied, giving the bottle a look of disgust.

“Suit yourself,” The man shrugged, “But don’t blame me if your junk stops working.”

“I kind of have to go the other kind… so…”

“Snows great for that, you want me to wait?”

“No,” Reid replied, “I’ll hold it.”

“Suit yourself.”

They drove in silence but when they got to the station his longing to relieve his bowels was still denied. He was immediately swarmed by his team members who were hugging and questioning him in turns. Finally he broke free of them with a cry of “turtle!” and bolted for the bathroom.

“What the hell does turtle mean?” Prentiss asked.

“Urgent bathroom break,” JJ chuckled.

“Ew,” Prentiss frowned.

They left him to it and when he came out two hours later he was doing the buttons to his shirt back up.

“You washed in there?” Morgan asked with a frown, “In a precinct bathroom?”

“I spent the night sleeping on snow and peeing in the woods,” Reid replied, “That bathroom was like heaven.”

“So how _did_ you survive?” Prentiss asked.

“That can wait till after he’s visited the hospital,” Hotchner replied.

“That won’t be necessary,” Reid replied, “I kept my extremities warm at all times, and as far as I’m aware based on reactions following my emergence from the igloo I suffered no oxygen deprivation. Though it was a…”

“That wasn’t a request,” Hotchner stated, “You were in a life threatening situation. Protocol is you get checked out by a medic.”

Reid sighed and nodded briefly, “I can’t go back to the hotel and get a shower first?”

“If you did have unnoticed frostbite what would happen?” Hotchner asked.

“At the very least I might not be able to tell the temperature of the water and end up scorching myself. At worst infection could set in and I’d lose a limb or part of one.”

“Then you will…?” Hotch left the sentence hanging.

“Report to the hospital immediately,” Reid mock saluted and headed for the door with JJ tailing him, but Hotchner cut her off.

“I’m taking him, you run point.”

“Okay,” JJ replied in surprise.

“Good,” Reid replied, “We can brainstorm along the way. Some of the Hunter gang members wandered passed me- or rather beneath me- while I was waiting for help.”

“And?” Hotch asked, opening the car door for Reid.

“And they were talking about a shipment coming in tomorrow, but I didn’t hear much more than that. Although, they _did_ mention that they were spread out across several counties!”

“Than this is too big for us to get involved with,” Hotchner sighed, “We’re talking _years_ of trying to dismantle them both. The most we can do is give them a profile and hope it points them in the right direction.”

“Exactly,” Reid replied, then reached across and took Hotchner’s hand where it lay on the shifter out of habit.

“Are you okay?” Hotchner asked, “I mean, aside from physically?”

“I’m fine,” Reid replied, “I was actually kind of proud of myself. Maybe when we’re done in the hospital we can go back to the scene and I can show you my igloo.”

“Sure,” Hotch smiled, “You really kept warm in there?”

“Body heat is the easiest source to tap into during a snow storm,” Reid replied, “The hard part is making sure that enough air is maintained. I made a compact snow fort, basically. Frankly igloo is too kind a term, but it resembled the same shape for my purposes. I actually kept the opening too small to get out of so I damaged it leaving and re-entering later on, but that was necessary since there was only me to maintain the temperature. It certainly wasn’t _warm_ in there, but it wasn’t at an unsafe temperature.”

“Brilliant as always,” Hotch shook his head in amusement.

“I want a kiss before we go into the hospital,” Reid replied.

“Oh. Okay,” Hotch replied in surprise, “When we stop you can have a kiss.”

Reid smiled contentedly and when they stopped in the hospitals parking lot Hotchner glanced around to make sure they had some privacy, and then leaned towards Reid with a half smile. Reid turned towards him, stripping off the seatbelt and leaning towards him with his eyes sparkling eagerly. Hotch placed his hand on his cheek and leaned in to press their lips together. They held the pose for a moment and then Hotchner leaned back, took in the confused and slightly disappointed look on Reid’s face, and leaned in for a deeper kiss. He slid his tongue across the seam of his lips, and Reid’s mouth opened to allow him access. Hotchner leaned in closer and tipped his head to one side, flicking his tongue against Reid’s to get him to participate. When his tongue did finally move it drew a soft moan from Hotch, who pulled away in alarm at the surprising amount of arousal he’d felt in that moment.

“Was it that bad?” Reid asked anxiously.

“No,” Hotchner cleared his throat, “No, quite the opposite.”

“Okay,” Reid said softly.

“It’s been a long time since I last kissed someone,” Hotchner explained softly.

“Was that too fast?”

“No,” Hotchner replied with a huff of amusement, “This just isn’t the time or place for me to start humping your leg like a dog.”

Reid’s smile was a mile wide, “I guess that answers the attraction question.”

“I’m not shocked. I may not have ever gone for men, but I’m at a point where a warm body is a warm body. I’ve always admired your mind. Your body is holding it. Now let’s get inside the hospital and make sure it’s healthy.”


	5. Chapter 5

Hotchner stayed by Reid’s side while they poked at his limbs and forced a saline drip on him. He wasn’t frostbitten anywhere, but he did have some cold burn on his face. He was told to put antiseptic cream on it and keep out of the cold as much as possible. The problem with sitting Reid down and telling him to stay put while a bit of fluid dripped into his arm was that he was almost hysterical with the urge to move. He fidgeted, twitched, tapped his hands against surfaces and refused to read a book off of Hotchner’s phone. Finally Hotchner got tired of his spastic chatter and slid the curtain shut on their room. The staff were extremely busy and wouldn’t check in for a while. Hotchner pulled up a chair close to Reid’s bed and lowered the bed down so he had Reid in easy reach.

“What are you doing?” Reid asked.

“Calming you down,” Hotchner replied, rubbing his hand over Reid’s thigh, “May I?”

“Y-yeah,” Reid nodded, eyes widening in anxiety and excitement.

Reid leaned forward eagerly to meet Hotch’s lips as they kissed nervously, Hotchner’s hand rubbing up and down the inside of his thigh. He moved slowly higher with each pass until Reid was grasping at his shoulder with his free arm, unable to kiss anymore as his breath came in ragged pants. They were cheek to cheek and Hotchner’s breath wasn’t hot in Reid’s ears. When he finally touched Reid’s testicles he had to press a his hand over his mouth to stop himself from crying out. A few strokes later and Hotchner was wrapping his hand around another man’s shaft for the first time.

“Oh wow,” Hotchner whispered, as the smooth skin over the warm shaft slid through his hand.

“Yeah,” Reid gasped into his hand.

“Lay back,” Hotchner whispered, “I want to see your face.”

Reid fell back biting a knuckle as he stared into Hotch’s eyes while the man stroked him firmly.

“You’re beautiful, Spence,” Hotch said softly.

“Aaron,” Reid gasped, and his eyes fell shut, his other hand gripping the bed as he pulsed into Hotch’s cupped hand.

Hotchner hurriedly cleaned up the mess and tucked Reid back into his boxers, hospital gown, and the thin sheet they’d spared him. He washed his hands and then returned to sit beside Reid while he smiled up at the ceiling.

“That was… wonderful,” Reid grinned.

“Glad you liked it,” Hotchner replied, not bothering to hide his pride.

“Sorry,” Reid stammered, shifting into a sitting position, “I should return the favour.”

“Not necessary,” Hotchner replied, “Especially not here. We used up far more time than I expected us to with that. A nurse will be in soon.”

Hotchner nodded to the empty saline drip.

“That explains why I need to pee desperately,” Reid groaned, “Where’d the call button get to? I need this thing _out_ of my arm.”

“I’m on it,” Hotchner replied, shifting his own erection aside so it wasn’t visible and then heading out to harass the nurses.

Hotcher returned sans-nurse but with a urinal, “They’re understaffed and overwhelmed. I was told to give you this and look the other way if I can’t deal with a penis like a grown man.”

“I think you’ve already proven yourself in that regard,” Reid smirked.

“Ooo! A dirty joke,” Hotchner smirked.

“I _will_ need you to turn away,” Reid replied, “I’m more than a bit _pissed_ that they don’t have bathrooms in the rooms here.”

“Small hospital,” Hotchner chuckled as he turned his back to him so Reid could relieve himself, “The vet clinic is across the road. I nearly turned into it until I saw a horse checking in.”

Reid chuckled, “Okay, I know we just did something very intimate, but you being here is stopping up my pipes.”

“Will the other side of the curtain be enough, or should I go for a horse ride?” Hotch teased, but stepped outside of the curtain anyway.

“Clear!” Reid called, and Hotchner stepped back into the room. Then he froze in alarm.

Reid was staring at the same thing Hotchner was, his face twisted in horror. The urine inside the clear container was brown.

“I’m bleeding,” Reid stated in horror.

“This time I’m getting a nurse, a doctor, and a fucking surgeon,” Hotchner snarled, turning and leaving in a hurry.  

An hour later and Reid was wheeled into intensive care and Hotchner called the group. He’d already shared the information Reid had given him so they were all waiting for the airstrip to clear. When he told them Reid has a punctured kidney they all headed for the hospital to join him in standing vigil.

“He’s on his way into surgery,” Hotchner stated, pacing the waiting area, “He had a broken rib. He didn’t even notice,” Hotchner paced, “It was the lowest rib. Apparently they break easily and sometimes people just don’t notice. He fell out of a tree. The same damn tree that saved his life may just kill him.”

“He’s going to be fine,” JJ stated, heading over to him.

“Twice in two days his life is in danger. I’m a divorcee, I’m not ready to be a widower, too,” Hotchner snarled, collapsing into a chair.

“Hey, come on,” Morgan forced out a laugh, “I mean, I know you and Reid jumped into a relationship suddenly, but widower?”

Hotch lifted his eyes and met Morgan’s. They studied each other for a moment and then Morgan’s eyes widened.

“Oh no,” he breathed.

“No way,” Prentiss replied.

“I should be recording this,” Hotch scoffed, “Reid said he was looking forward to the moment you guys figured it out.”

“When?” JJ asked.

“We delayed our flight to get married,” Hotch replied, “We had a quick civil union after discussing it with a lawyer, tied the knot, and then headed here to take on the case.”

“Well, at least you talked to someone first,” Prentiss replied sarcastically.

“Are we really going to do this now?” JJ scolded, “His _husband_ is in there.”

“His husband who he hasn’t even had time to get freaky with,” Morgan scoffed.

“You think he means less to me because I haven’t had _sex_ with him?” Hotch asked angrily.

They all grew still and Morgan shook his head, “No. I’m sorry. I’m just worried about him and I’m taking it out on the wrong person.”

Hotchner gave him a sharp nod and leaned back in the chair to shut his eyes, “I hope I didn’t make it worse.”

“I’m sure you didn’t,” JJ replied, rubbing his arm soothingly, “I’m sure you drove very carefully. You got him to the hospital, that’s where he needed to be.”

Hotch nodded and sighed, “I just want to go home. Preferably with my husband.”

XX

Reid woke up in the hospital with Hotchner asleep by his bedside. He found out an hour later that he was going to have to stay another night and that he was suspended from flying. The group met to wish him safe travels and set off on the jet. Hotchner had to go with them because Jack was waiting for him, but he bid Reid a very long goodbye, kissing him sweetly and telling him he’d call him when he landed. Reid apologized over and again, but Hotchner wasn’t hearing it.

“Spencer, it’s not your fault,” Hotch reminded him, “Injuries happen. You were chilled. You didn’t notice the pain. Get better. Drive home. Meet me at my place when you’re feeling up to it. Call me when you get back to Virginia either way.”

“Okay,” Reid replied with a quick nod, tugging him down for another kiss.

“Goodbye,” Hotch petted his hair and then headed out the door.

XXX

Hotchner was making spaghetti in his kitchen three weeks later when Reid knocked on his door. He’d taken a few trains and buses back to the area and was standing there with a bag on wheels. Hotchner frowned at it.

“I’m not allowed to lift anything over five pounds for the next week,” Reid shrugged.

“Please come in,” Hotchner replied, “Do you need anything? Have you had a chance to wash up from travel?”

“Ah, yeah. I showered this morning. Sorry I didn’t call, I was just so eager to get here and my phone was out of batteries.”

“No problem, you’re always welcome here,” Hotchner forced on a smile past the anxiety of having his new husband in his home for the first time, “Jack! Doctor Reid is here!”

“Spencer!” Jack crowed, running out into the room. Hotchner stopped him before he could jump into Reid’s arms.

“He’s hurt, son,” Hotchner told him, “We’re going to give him some space. Why don’t you show him your new video game?”

“Yeah! It’s the best!” Jack crowed, “It’s a shooter!”

“A shooter?” Reid frowned, “I thought you didn’t let Jack have shooters?”

“This one makes the cops out to be the _good_ guys,” Hotchner replied, “It’s mostly a detective game, but then you take the bad guy down. I decided it was okay after reading a few reviews and watching some videos online.”

“Cool,” Reid smiled, “Sounds like fun!”

Reid walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, indulging Jack for long enough to give Hotchner time to finish dinner. He served it up with a final flare of garlic bread, something he hadn’t been planning on making until Reid showed up. He knew he was showing off and he knew Reid would see it.

“Dinner!” Hotch called.

“Why’d you light candles?” Jack asked, climbing into his seat.

Reid smothered a grin, “Yeah, Aaron. Why’d you light candles?”

“Because I want it to feel like we’re in Italy,” Hotchner gave Reid a warning glance, “Come and sit down, Spencer.”

Reid joined them with an apologetic glance towards Hotchner, and sat down to the moment of silence that Hotchner held before eating each meal. It was reserved for personal reflection or prayer, as each person preferred. Jack was the only one praying, mostly with silly rhymes. Once done, they all tucked in and Reid hummed appreciatively as he indulged in the home cooked meal.

After dinner it was a bit of time before they got Jack settled down, Reid having to read him six chapters of _The Prisoner of Azkaban_ before he finally relaxed. Then they shut the door to his room and stood there in awkward silence.

“I’m… I’m pretty much healed,” Reid mumbled, “That long ride over, and all.”

“Yes,” Hotchner nodded, “Listen, there’s something I have to ask you about.”

“Yes?” Reid asked, his eyes flying up anxiously.

“Did I hurt you?” Hotchner asked, putting a hand on Reid’s elbow, “What I pulled in the hospital, you were injured at the time. I had you sitting up and lying down, and orgasm puts a _lot_ of strain on the body…”

“I was injured before that,” Reid replied, “You know that.”

“Yes, but did I make it _worse_?” Hotchner asked.

Reid shrugged, “I don’t know. I didn’t bring it up with the doctors. If it helps any, I loved it. I-I mean enjoyed it. Really, _really_ enjoyed it.”

“Good,” Hotchner nodded, “Good, I’m glad. Would you like some wine?”

“Oh, I can’t. Medication,” Reid frowned.

“Oh, right.”

“You can, though. I don’t mind.”

“Drinking alone’s not the same,” Hotchner smiled, “What about a movie and some popcorn? Maybe… icecream?”

“Yeah, sounds great!” Reid grinned, “What have you got to watch?”

“I’ve got Netflix,” Hotchner shrugged, “You’re the one coming off of a long, boring ride home. You pick.”

“Okay,” Reid replied.

“By the way, any complications I should know about?” Hotch asked, “I mean, do you need dialasis?”

“Oh, no,” Reid shook his head, “It was a very small puncture and they caught it within the first eight hours. If they hadn’t we’d be looking at serious issues, kidney replacement, organ failure, the works. I’ll need to be careful with my body for the rest of my life, but I’ll survive. I didn’t even lose part of my kidney. They just stitched me up and moved on.”

“Thank gods for that,” Hotchner replied.

“You really don’t have anything to feel bad about,” Reid replied, rubbing his forearm gently, “The fall hurt me, not you. I highly doubt a heated groping session in a hospital broke my rib.”

“No, but it might have been what forced it into your kidney,” Hotchner replied, “You were fine until we got you to that hospital and I pounced on you.”

“I’m not so sure you could call it pouncing,” Reid teased, “More like seducing.”

“Reid,” Hotchner sighed.

“You’ve spent the last three weeks worrying that you caused my injuries by giving me a mind-blowing orgasm,” Reid replied, “I’d like to either comfort you or move past this to the part where you give me more.”

Hotchner couldn’t help but smile at him, “Well, that’s a bit of a rewarding feeling. I’d nearly forgotten what it was like to be appreciated sexually.”

“I don’t even know what that’s like,” Reid replied, “I’d like to know what it’s like, especially before one of us gets hurt again.”

“Our jobs are dangerous,” Hotchner replied.

“Can you deal with me on the team? In danger?” Reid asked.

“Yes,” Hotchner replied quickly, “I know I’d go crazy if anyone else had your back. Wow, I guess this is how Haley felt.”

“Wondering if you were safe every day,” Reid nodded, “Yeah, that’s hard.”

Hotchner spent a moment considering the situation and then leaned forward and kissed Reid. Reid paused a moment and then leaned into the kiss. For a moment they were simply stroking their tongues together and then Reid shifted and straddled his hips. Hotchner moaned eagerly and rolled his hips up into Reid’s body, his hands rubbing along Reid’s thighs.

“I find you,” Reid spoke as he pulled back a bit and rested his forehead against Hotch’s, “Unbearably attractive.”

“You make me feel young,” Hotchner replied.

“You make me _feel_ ,” Reid replied, rocking his hips into Hotchner’s lap and throwing his head back as pleasure curled up his spine.

“I don’t want you overexerting yourself,” Hotch panted.

“This is no more exhausting than trying not to topple over on a bumpy bus ride,” Reid replied, “Kiss my neck.”

“Kiss your neck, what?” Hotchner taunted.

“Kiss my neck, _please_ ,” Reid panted.

Hotchner attacked it, teeth nipping along Reid’s long neck until he let out a high-pitched whine, his hips jerking out of sync as he came closer and closer to release.

“Spence,” Hotch moaned, “I want you in my bed.”

“Yes,” Reid gasped.

“Now,” Hotch replied, pushing his hips away.

Reid whimpered a bit, “Please.”

“Not this time, sweetheart. Bedroom. Before we get interrupted by my son.”

“Or a case,” Reid sighed, standing and following Hotch to his bed.

Hotch laid Reid down on the bed, holding himself up with his arms so he wouldn’t put pressure on him. He kissed him firmly and then sat back to straddle his thighs while he stripped his shirt off.

“Oh wow,” Reid panted, “You’re hairier than I remember.”

“Not good?” Aaron frowned, “I used to trim it for Haley.”

“No!” Reid gasped, unbuttoning his own shirt hurriedly, “No. I love it. A lot. Can I touch?”

“Of course,” Hotch smiled.

Reid’s hands flew up and he ran them from stomach to shoulder and back, eyes wide as he caressed his flesh and skimmed his fingers through the tight curls of hair on his body. His eyes were almost worshipful and Hotch felt his throat catch at the sight.

“I’ve never been more turned on in my life,” Reid panted, “Hotch, I just need… Aaron, I need…”

“Yes,” Hotch replied, spreading Reid’s unbuttoned shirt and sliding his hands down his thin body.

“I’m not as attractive as you,” Reid glanced away in shame.

“Yes you are,” Hotch replied, “You’re just a _different_ kind of attractive.”

“Yeah, the skinny geek, kind,” Reid smirked.

“I have a hell of a lot of interest in your particular skinny body and geeky mind,” Hotch replied, shifting down to undo both their flies.

“No wait,” Reid replied when Hotchner reached for him, “You first. I want to see you this time.”

“How do you want to do this?” Hotch asked.

“I want _everything_ ,” Reid replied.

“I’m not straining you.”

“Aaron,” Reid pleaded, “ _Everything_. I want you and I’m well enough to take it.”

Hotchner nodded and hurried into the kitchen to fetch some olive oil, “This is all I have. You’re clean?”

“Yes,” Reid replied, squirming out of the last of his clothes, “I read up on this, and my hand and knees are the safest position for me to receive anal penetration for the first time.”

“That works for me, just let me tilt this mirror. I want to see your face,” Hotchner moved it and Reid knelt so that he could confirm Hotchner’s view before falling forward onto his hands.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Hotch purred, kneeling behind him, “Your research included cleaning up?”

“Of course,” Reid replied, “I take it you have experience with anal?”

“Haley and I tried it a few times, she was impartial but I loved it,” Hotch replied, stroking his fingers around his pucker.

“Oh, that’s neat,” Reid stated, shifting a bit.

“You tell met he second it stops being fun. Sometimes it’s not possible the first time. It might hurt too much.”

“I’ll be fine,” Reid replied, “I’ve been practicing with my own fingers.”

“In cheap motels on your way back?” Hotch replied, “How is that suddenly a fantasy of mine?”

“It didn’t feel like _this_ ,” Reid dropped his head and gasped, “Okay, that’s _very_ good, oh _ow!_ ”

“Back arched down, not up,” Hotchner corrected with a slight press of one hand.

“Oh, better. If you’re only used to this with a woman you might not be aware of the male g-spot, also known as the p-spot. _Oh_ , that’s it. Right there.”

“Where?” Hotch smothered a smile, “Here?”

“No, down more. Up. Down.”

“Here?”

“Fuck!”

“My, my, you know swear words?”

“I know swear words in sixteen different languages.”

“Another kink I didn’t know I had,” Hotchner smirked, “Going for a third finger now, you ready?”

“ _Very_ ready,” Reid panted.

Hotch slid in a third and pumped it a few times before spreading his digits to stretch his husband’s body. Reid moaned as his prostate was grazed and began to thrust back on his hand.

“I think you’re ready,” Hotch replied, sliding his fingers free. He slicked up his cock and lined himself up, stilling Reid’s hips as he tried to press back too fast.

Hotch slid inside, holding back a groan so he could listen for Reid making a sound of pain. He hissed a bit, but his face showed enough excitement to let him know they were fine. He took it slow and careful until he finally pressed in balls deep. He took a steadying breath and then looked down, studying the way Reid’s pink hole stretched around his cock.

“Oh, that’s beautiful,” He panted.

“Aaron,” Reid whimpered, “ _Move_.”

“Yeah,” Hotch breathed, and then pulled slowly out. He slid into him slowly once more, ignoring Reid’s attempt to push back and speed it up.

“Go!” Reid pleaded.

“Not yet,” Hotch groaned, “I’ll hurt you.”

“Aaron, I _need_ this!”

“Soon,” Hotch replied, giving him another slow drag. Then he felt it, that flutter in Reid’s muscles that said they’d accepted the intrusion, “Yes!”

Hotchner’s hips began to piston faster, his hands gripping Reid’s hips tightly. A glance down and his eyes caught the scar where he’d had surgery to repair the damage from his recent injury. It was surprisingly small, but what was truly shocking was his reaction to seeing it. His cock throbbed and he had to focus to hold off his orgasm just a bit longer. He wanted Reid to enjoy this, but something about seeing him so vulnerable drove him wild.

“Spencer,” Hotch gasped, reaching down to stroke his cock despite the awkward angle it put him at.

It was apparently fairly good for Reid judging by the way he cried out and began to thrust back enthusiastically. Hotch barely had to touch him before he was coming hard across the bedspread. Reid’s muscles clamped down on Hotchner’s so he pressed in as deep as he could and moaned through the waves of pleasure. Only when he’d assured that they were both satisfied did he slowly slip free, give Reid’s bottom a glance to make sure he wasn’t bleeding, and then collapse sideways on the bed.

“Good?” Hotch panted.

Reid whimpered and collapsed sideways the opposite way, smiling giddily at Hotch. His face was flushed and drenched in sweat, “So, so good.”

“Good,” Hotch replied.

“Daddy!” Jack cried out, “Daddy!”

“Uh oh,” Reid panted.

“Shit,” Hotchner scrambled up, wiped his hands down with a sanitary wipe, and wrapped a robe around himself, “This is the gross and awkward part of parenting.”

Reid awkwardly made his way to the bathroom while Hotch reassured his son that the noises he’d heard had been the television. By the time he returned he looked exhausted.

“He wants to sleep in my bed,” Hotch sighed.

“Oh,” Reid looked down, “And you’re not ready to…”

“I am,” Hotch interrupted, “I’m in this, Reid. I know it’s fast, but we’ve spent the last three weeks flirting on the phone and I think it’s safe to say we’re both attached. It’s your call. Will you stay?”

“Yeah,” Reid smiled.

“Okay, clean up then join us. I’m going to wash in the sink quickly. He’s already in my bed. You have clothes?”

“Yeah,” Reid nodded, “Could you shove my bag through the door?”

“Sure,” Hotchner nodded.

By the time Reid reentered the bedroom Hotch was snoring softly with his arm over Jack. Reid climbed in behind Hotch, hesitated a moment, and then snuggled closer with a contented sigh. Jack peered over Hotch and smiled at Reid.

“Did you have a nightmare too?”

“No, but I might,” Reid whispered back, “I have them sometimes. I bet your dad does, too.”

“Yeah,” Jack replied, “But if I stay here he has them a _lot_ less.”

“Maybe you’ll be my good luck charm, too,” Reid smiled.

“Go to sleep, both of you,” Hotch groaned.

“Sorry,” They both whispered, and snuggled down for the night.


	6. Chapter 6

It only took two weeks and three cases to know that they needed to get a house together. Reid came over with newspaper clippings for a bigger apartment the same time Hotch came home with a real estate book. They started house hunting in what little down time they had, grateful that it was almost always the _same_ time. There were still some things each of them had on their minds. Hotch worried about how Jack would react when he figured out that they were more than just friends who slept in the same bed. Reid wanted to introduce Hotch to his mother but they hadn’t found the time. For the most part things moved smoothly. Then one of the neighbours called Social Services.

Reid was at Hotch’s home watching Jack while Hotch got some paperwork done at the office. He’d picked Jack up from school, given him a bowl of cereal in lieu of real food (because he was the fun friend) and settled in to do the dishes while Jack played video games. The knock at the door left him answering it with a towel over his shoulder and a happy child in the background. The words and badges at the door left him stunned and still.

“Wh-wh- but, no. You’ve got the wrong house.”

“This isn’t the home of Aaron Hotchner?”

“Yes.”

“And Jack Hotchner?”

“Yes.”

“And exactly who are you?”

“I’m his… employee,” Reid hesitated.

“You mean nanny?”

“What? No,” Reid stammered.

“Sorry, do you prefer child care provider?”

“Well, yes, but I’m not. I mean, I provide care for the child in the home but that’s not my primary role. I’m an FBI agent, he’s my bossover at Quantico.”

“I see you also do dishes,” The man smiled, “Look, we’re not here to cause anyone trouble. We just want to make sure Jack is okay. A neighbour called and said a long string of strange men and women were parading out of here. Said some of them looked shady and they were worried that he’d gotten involved in something dangerous after his wife’s death.”

“Ex-wife,” Reid corrected, “And Aaron is an FBI agent with a moral code a mile long. His son is his first priority.”

“Then where is he now?” The man asked.

“At work,” Reid replied, “He had paperwork to handle after his last case, but _I’m_ here.”

“I don’t think delegating childcare to his agents is either appropriate or beneficial to Jack. Step aside.”

“I’m also his husband!” Reid blurted out, “We got married over a month ago, I can show you the certificate. I’m a completely appropriate caregiver for Jack, and I’m the _only_ strange person whose been wandering in and out of here.”

Jack had wandered in by this point and heard Reid’s words, “You and my dad are married? Cool!”

“Um, yeah. Cool,” Reid smiled at him.

“I’m going to need to see that certificate.”

“I don’t think I should let you in while Aaron isn’t here. Can you wait in the hall while I call him? He can be home in approximately twelve minutes.”

“Step aside.”

Reid did so and the man and woman entered, clipboards and cameras at the ready. Reid glanced around the room and fretted about everything he saw. When he tried to tell Jack to stay with him while he got their wedding certificate they intervened and said they wanted to question him. Reid went into their room and called him while he anxiously searched Hotch’s file cabinet until he found their certificate- filed under Reid- and brought it out to them along with his wallet for identification. They studied it and nodded, but asked him about his relationship with Hotch anyway.

“We’re almost always together,” Reid replied, “If he were bringing other people home I’d know about it. The neighbours probably saw friends and family visiting. His aunt Jessica watches him when we’re away overnight and sometimes his agents come over. We’re in the process of house hunting, so a real estate agent has stopped by to talk to him. Nothing shady. Oh! Also, one of his agents- SSA Derek Morgan- is of African descent. Statistically speaking people are more likely to call the police if they see someone with dark skin doing something strange than if they see someone white doing the same action.”

“What would he be doing that was strange?” One worker asked while the other followed up with, “You think the neighbour’s racist?”

“Well, I was just quoting a statistic,” Reid stammered, “I’m sure Morgan wasn’t doing anything strange, but sometimes neighbours are nosey and… look, I’m telling you that nothing weird is going on here.”

“Except that you opened with ‘I’m his employee’ and closed with ‘I’m his husband’.”

“The FBI hasn’t found out yet,” Reid replied, “We could lose our jobs.”

“Regular Romeo and Julien, huh?” The woman smiled, “Jack, what do you think of your dad’s friend, here?”

“He’s fun,” Jack stated, “He reads a _lot_ and is really smart. He gave me cereal for dinner!”

“Ah, that’s not his normal dinner,” Reid stammered, “I wanted to get some cleaning done so I gave him something quick. He normally gets full course meals with vegetables and whole grains.”

“What are whole grains?” Jack asked.

“Okay, that he definitely knows, I think he’s taunting us,” Reid insisted.

Jack giggled.

“Relax Mr…?”

“Reid,” Reid replied, “I kept my last name.”

“Mr. Reid we see this all the time. We’re concerned with Jack’s well being, not how good he is at driving you up the wall. He seems to be happy, well fed, and from what he’s told us he’s got two caregivers who take good care of him. We are concerned with this Jessica person. His aunt?”

“I can call her if you like?” Reid offered.

“That would be good,” They nodded.

Reid called Jessica and told her the situation, then he called Hotch again. He didn’t pick up so he left another frantic message and headed back out to the agents.

“I’m confused as to why _Jack_ didn’t know about your relationship with his father?” The male agent asked, pulling Reid aside out of Jack’s earshot while the woman had him drawing pictures.

“We got married very quickly,” Reid replied, “We wanted to ease him into the whole situation. Two years ago he lost his mother and it was pretty traumatic for him. He knows I’m here when his dad is, he knows we sleep in the same bed, but as far as he’s aware it’s because we have nightmares sometimes.”

“Do you?” The man asked.

“I’m an FBI agent. Think of the worst thing you’ve seen in a home you went to pull a child from and then double it. I see that every day. Nightmares are a part of the job.”

“I once walked in on a father raping his twelve year old daughter.”

“ _Six_ years old,” Reid replied, raising a hand and giving him a sad look, “I’ve also been abducted, drugged, and tortured.”

“Do you bring that home to Jack?”

“I bring games, books, and attention home to Jack. He doesn’t deserve anything else and he’ll never get it from me. Or Aaron.”

“Hey, Spence?” Jack called, bolting over and hugging his arm, “Can I call you mom now?”

“Um… I’d really rather you didn’t.”

“Uncle?”

“That’s a bit… creepy. How about some form of dad?”

“But I already have a dad,” Jack frowned.

“Lots of kids have two dads,” Reid replied, “You can call me papa.”

Jack made a face and Reid laughed, “Yeah, that’s not quite me, is it? We’ll think of something.”

“How about dude? Dad is dad and you’re dude.”

“I’m okay with that,” Reid smiled, ruffling his hair.

Jessica arrived an half an hour later while Reid and the agents were going over Jack’s schoolwork, Reid helping him understand mistakes he’d made in his homework. She looked worried and a few questions in she broke down in tears and admitted she’d been bringing dates to the house after Jack had gone to bed. Some of them were men she’d met on the internet and just didn’t want to bring home to her own house. She was also unaware of Reid’s marital status, and apparently honestly worried about the fact he’d been hanging around more than usual. Reid’s eyes went wide, but before he could stammer a protest Hotch came home at that point and straightened the situation out quickly.

“I wasn’t aware of Jessica’s dates,” Hotchner informed them, “I’ll have cameras installed all through the apartment and one of my agents monitor them regularly while I’m away, as will I when I have time. I trust Jessica’s judgement, she wouldn’t bring home anyone I wouldn’t, but her behaviour was wildly inappropriate. I’ve seen no behaviour to indicate Jack has been molested, nor does Spencer fit the profile of a paedophile. I can handle it from here.”

Jessica and the agents left quietly, the former sniffling miserably.

“Will you keep Jessica on?” Reid asked.

“She’s his aunt,” Hotch shrugged miserably, “I’d rather she met them at a location besides her home, but I’m not thrilled she didn’t run it by me first or that my son was sleeping in the next room. Still, they weren’t aware of his presence as far as I know and she knows how to handle herself. After this she won’t do it again.”

“They know we’re married,” Reid replied, “I had to give a reasonable excuse for my involvement in Jack’s life. He knows too, now.”

“I don’t think either will narc on us,” Hotch smiled a bit, pulling him close to kiss his forehead.

“Ew!” Jack giggled.

Hotchner smiled at him, “Don’t you have homework to do?”

XXX

The case had been a painfully long one and Hotch was missing their new condo and his son deeply. The team had told JJ they wanted to start sharing hotel rooms in order to make it less suspicious that Hotch and Reid had only one room between them, or avoid paying for a room that wasn’t used. That being said they were all short of sleep and low on morale. Reid and Hotch didn’t have much time together even with them sharing a room. So when Hotch and Morgan had an argument on the floor Prentiss pulled Morgan into a free room to calm him down and Reid pulled Hotch into the nearest bathroom.

“What was that?” Reid asked, watching Hotch pace the room, “You never lose your cool.”

“This case is _unending_. I want to go home to Jack. I want some time alone with my husband.”

“I’m here now,” Reid replied, more to respond than to suggest anything, but Hotch latched on to it.

Reid found himself pushed up against a wall, Hotchner kissing him hungrily, one hand in his hair and the other pinning his wrist against the wall. Reid moaned into the kiss and Hotchner kicked his legs apart as if he were about to search him. Reid gasped and wriggled wantonly as Hotch palmed his crotch.

“On your knees,” Hotch growled stepping back only far enough for Reid to obey as he undid his trousers.

Reid’s eyes were glazed with lust and his mouth damp from the kiss as he dropped to his knees. He lazily stroked his own cock inside his trousers while gripping Hotch’s shaft with his free hand. Hotch had his head pinned against the wall as he thrust into his mouth, only Reid’s hand stopping him from choking. Even with that he gagged occasionally. It was glorious. Reid throbbed in longing, moaning around his cock as Hotch began to thrust faster. When he came down his throat Reid swallowed him down eagerly and began to toss himself off faster. Hotch leaned down and dragged him up with hands beneath his armpits. He shoved his hand into Reid’s trousers and dragged his climax out of him with a firm grip and a heated kiss to his lips.

“Aaron,” Reid sighed in relief, his head falling back against the tile.

“Now let’s…” Hotch started.

“Unbelievable,” A voice snapped behind them.

Hotch tugged his trousers closed and looked over his shoulder at the lead detective. He was glaring at them with his arms folded and disgust plastered all over his face.

“I’ve got twelve bodies and you two are in here fucking?! Some help you are!”

“We were just relieving tension,” Reid started.

“Reid,” Hotch cut him off, doing up his trousers and going to the sink to wash up, “Detective, I apologize. Our behaviour was highly inappropriate.”

“Damn straight it was!” The man snapped.

Reid finished getting his own clothes in order, wiped his mouth off on a paper towel, and began anxiously washing his own hands while Hotch squared off with the detective.

“Some go to the gun range to blow off steam,” Hotch explained, “We made a bad call here, but it served it’s purpose. My head is clear now. I’ve got a few ideas for…”

“You know what? I’m done with this. You bastards have been here over a week and all you’ve given us are vague ideas.”

“We gave you a full and detailed profile!” Reid argued.

“Reid, stand down,” Hotcher snapped, “Detective, we’ll leave if you feel we’re not helping the situation. Frankly I’m not sure what more we can do here. I can fax you any new ideas my team comes up with.”

“Good. Fuck off!” The man snapped.

“I would like to ask for your discretion in-“ Hotch began.

“Fuck off twice!” The man snarled, then turned and left.

“Uh oh,” Reid stated.

“You can say that again,” Hotchner replied with a frustrated sigh.

Hotchner walked out of the bathroom into chaos. Morgan and Prentiss were gesturing to the white board they’d been putting notes up on while the detective raged to one of his sergeants from his office.

“Hotch!” Prentiss shouted, “We got him! We know who it is! It clicked while Morgan and I were arguing!”

“We profiled that he was working in an official capacity with a uniform to make him seem safe,” Morgan turned to him, “We interviewed everyone who had recently been let go by the post office and all current employees, but what about those e-bay sale shops? We called Garcia and she found a guy who runs one who fits the profile _exactly_.”

“That’s great,” Hotch replied with a blank stare at the board.

“What’s wrong?” Morgan asked, “It fits.”

“Detective Cornet saw Reid and I in the bathroom.”

“I take it you two weren’t just chatting?” Morgan sighed.

“Afraid not.”

“Oh no,” Prentiss groaned, “You guys, we’ve all been so careful!”

“It’s on me,” Hotch sighed, watching the man shout into the phone through the window in his office, “I started it.”

“I don’t think IA is going to care who decided to make out in the bathroom,” Reid replied, “We’re both on the line here.”

“I’m sorry, Spencer,” Hotchner sighed, “I should have had more self control.”

“A case like this takes it out on everyone,” Reid replied, “Right now we need to focus on the suspect. Where is he now?”

An hour later they had him and a pile of evidence in custody and Detective Cornet was feeling a lot better about their methods. He shook all their hands, giving Hotchner and Reid a guilty look, and bid them a safe trip home. When they arrived they found out that Cornet had withdrawn his complaint about them, but it was too late. The damage had been done and Internal Affairs officers were already searching Reid’s desk and heading for Hotchner’s office.

To their surprise JJ stepped forward with a thick file, “Begging your pardon agents, but you’ll be needing this.”

“What’s that?” The agent asked, taking it from her.

“Details of SSA Hotchner and Reid’s relationship from the day it started until today,” She replied.

They gave her an alarmed look, “We usually like to keep these things anonymous, Agent Joreau. Your career could be negatively affected.”

“I gathered the evidence to _protect_ them, not harm them,” She stated, “You’ll see in there the letter that started their relationship, taped back together and photographed. The date in the corner is accurate. Their marriage certificate date is the same. They started out married and dated afterwards, so technically the only rule they broke was not informing the Bureau of their nuptials so it could be determined if they were able to continue working together. That file also contains every case- in detail- that they worked together since marrying. I think that will answer the question of if they can work together or not.”

“You’ll be breaking up a hell of a team if you move one or both of them out,” Morgan informed them, “If anything I’d be willing to step up as team leader again. Assuming Agent Hotchner is okay with that.”

“I would be,” Hotch nodded, “If it meant Reid and I stayed in the BAU. It’s our passion.”

“If anyone has to be removed I’d rather it be me,” Reid supplied, “I have other outlets available to me as a genius while Hotchner has a son and other obligations that would make it difficult for him to restart his career.”

“You were all aware of this?” The IA agent asked.

“We all support them,” Morgan replied, “They’re in love. That’s no crime, and it really hasn’t harmed their work.”

Prentiss and JJ nodded while Garcia hurried out, “Here’s surveillance of their behaviour while in the BAU compound. As you can see from the tapes they are completely professional. They even refer to each other by last names in front of local law enforcement and other agents. Only a select few were aware of their relationship, that’s how totally professional they were.”

“You’re treating this like a case,” The second IA officer laughed, “Well, then. Good work. We’ll look this over and get back to you. I’m afraid you two are still suspended in the mean time. Agent Morgan is lead.”

They left with their cases of information and Reid and Hotchner went home to pass out from exhaustion. It took two days for them to be contacted, and when they were they were called in front of a review board. A technical analyst had gone over the information the team has provided and confirmed none of it was fraudulent. They sat down individually and then were presented with a verdict as a pair.

“SSA Hotchner and SSA Dr. Reid, you are both charged with failure to report a relationship alteration that could have impeded investigations. For that you are suspended for one month without pay. Upon reviewing your cases and actions following your marriage we have concluded that your ability to work together is only mildly affected. You will be required to see a marital counsellor once every six months and your team will be reviewed at that time as well. Should your marriage terminate you must report to us immediately. Is that clear?”

“Yes ma’am,” They both answered in unison.

“Then you are dismissed,” She stated, but held up a hand as they began to file out of the room, “Oh, and agents? Off the record? It’s my understanding that work has been too prevalent for you to take time off for a honeymoon. I have a timeshare in Florida you are welcome to enjoy during your leave of absence. Here are the keys and information.”

Reid hesitantly took them from her and stared at Hotch in confusion.

“Congratulations on your marriage,” She finished with a smile, “Enjoy your honeymoon. I hope you’re both very happy.”

“Thank you,” Hotch replied.

Hotch held the doors for Reid as they left, his hand on the small of his back as they returned to the car with soft smiles on their faces. They called in a few favours and arranged for Jack to stay with a friend, and then they booked a flight to Las Vegas to see Reid’s mother, and another to Florida for the honeymoon they had never gotten. They called JJ to give her the results of their hearing so the team wouldn’t worry and finally, _finally_ put work out of their minds and settled in to enjoy a bit of quiet… until the next case when Morgan was sure to call them despite their suspension.


End file.
